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From: Arthur Tabachneck on 9 Nov 2009 20:39
Richard,

You may be able to achieve what you want with the compged function. See,
e.g.,
http://support.sas.com/documentation/cdl/en/lrdict/62618/HTML/default/a00220
6133.htm

or, in short form: http://xrl.us/bf3mzr

Art
-------
On Mon, 9 Nov 2009 17:03:24 -0800, Hoskins, Richard E. (DOH)
<Richard.Hoskins(a)DOH.WA.GOV> wrote:

>I am looking for a macro that will compare two social security numbers
>and report on differences, especially transpositions of digits, or all
>digits the same except for ones in particular locations, etc.
>
>Any ideas about where to look or how to do it?
>
>Thanks -
>
>Richard Hoskins
>WA State DOH
>Olympia, WA
From: Sigurd Hermansen on 10 Nov 2009 01:04
Richard:
The SAS SPEDIS() function reports a total cost of rearranging an SSN1 to match SSN2. The newer COMPGED() and related functions in SAS give one more control over the costs assigned to different types of transformations.

You'll find hundreds of string comparison functions in the literature. The subtitle of your subject hints at the interesting question: up to what degree of similarity might we assume that two strings of digits represent the same SSN, and beyond what level of similarity do we consider them different.

I've reviewed many thousands of possible matches on SSN. Spouses and parents/children may share an SSN for a variety of reasons. Those who need an SSN for payroll purposes may use the SSN of another person. Twins may have a single final digit difference in SSN. We find that 95% +/- 2% tends to be the probability of SSN for the same person actually matching in administrative data.
S

-----Original Message-----
From: SAS(r) Discussion [mailto:SAS-L(a)LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Hoskins, Richard E. (DOH)
Sent: Monday, November 09, 2009 8:03 PM
To: SAS-L(a)LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Comparing SSNs - how different are they?

I am looking for a macro that will compare two social security numbers
and report on differences, especially transpositions of digits, or all
digits the same except for ones in particular locations, etc.

Any ideas about where to look or how to do it?

Thanks -

Richard Hoskins
WA State DOH
Olympia, WA
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